The high-tech Pterodactyl drones developed in Russia will be a significant boost to the army’s ground forces, defense industry expert Nikolai Kim.The new generation of UAVs capable of flying up dozens of meters in the air will allow Russian tanks to scan areas almost 10 kilometers away.

The Pterodaktyls, attached via cable to Russia’s advanced Armata T-14 tanks, will carry thermal night vision gear and radar and will considerably increase the distance at which the tank crews can spot targets.

“Tank operators are unable to see far away and improving their visibility is something our engineers have always tried to do. Conventional drones don’t fit the bill because they need to be steered. The new ones are attached to the tank via a cable power and video information goes through and are more efficient,” said Nikolai Kim, who is a professor at Moscow’s Aviation Institute. “Each time the tank crew needs additional information, like, for example, when surrounded by the enemy, they send the drone aloft and then to bring it back,” Kim explained, adding that the Pterodaktyls can have peaceful applications as well. “Tethered drones can be deployed at stationary positions where they can spend hours protecting areas where observation towers are hard or impossible to build.” Nikolai Kim said that a new generation of self-contained UAV’s capable making their own decisions, were now being developed in Russia. “In another first, we are going to have several drones working in sync ensuring observation from different angles, diverting, attacking and acting like human beings,” Nikolai Kim said.

The 2017 World Military Winter Games in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi will be held at the highest possible level, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Tuesday.

«I am sure that the games will be held at a very high level,» Shoigu said during his meeting with Abdulhakeem Al-Shino, the president of the International Military Sports Council (CISM).

«Our country has proved itself a long time ago to be the country, where people like sports and which is capable of organizing major sports events, such as World Military Games,» the Russian defense minister said.

Al-Shino said that the CISM was proud «that during the last three years, Russia as a super power was the leader in this international sports organization.»

The CISM president recalled that Russia hosted a number of recent CISM competitions adding that «Russia is the leading power in the sphere of sports.»

The CISM coordinating committee, led by Secretary General Dorah Mambi, is currently paying a visit to Sochi, where it will be staying until December 8 inspecting the readiness of facilities for the 2017 World Winter Military Games, due to be held on February 22-28.

According to the CISM official website, the Winter Military World Games are a multisports event organized every four years, one year before the year the Winter Olympic Games are organized.

It is an event that is based on the CISM and Olympic spirit, without political, religious and racial consideration nor discrimination.

«We expect the plant producing AK-103 assault rifles and munitions to run at full capacity in 2019,» the deputy prime minister said after a meeting of a top-level Russian-Venezuelan commission.

«The issues that existed some two or three years ago have been solved,» he added.

Russia has already delivered nearly all the equipment needed to launch the production to Venezuela, but the building is only halfway through completion.

The two countries signed an agreement on building a factory for assembling the Kalashnikov assault rifles in Venezuela in July 2006. The document said Venezuelan technology experts and specialists would be trained for a full licensed production cycle of cycle of AK-103 guns.

The factory is expected to assemble about 25,000 Kalashnikov automatic assault rifles annually.

According to the statement, Antonov stressed that Russia and Philippines face common challenges, namely, terrorism.

«The parties acknowledged that the development of Russian-Filipino military ties will serve the interests of strengthening security in the Asia-Pacific Region,» the Defense Ministry said in a statement, following a meeting between Antonov and Lorenzana.

The statement added, that on his part, Lorenzana informed Antonov on the Philippines’ actions, conducted to fight the terrorist threat. In October, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said his country could build a defense and economic alliance with Russia and China. On November 20, Duterte said he planned to send defense and foreign ministers to prepare for his visit to Russia at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin.

According to Russian Defense Ministry, Russia’s Aerospace Forces have started adopting a new regimental set of the long-range S-400 Triumf air defense systems at the Kapustin Yar testing range in the Astrakhan Region.

Russia’s Aerospace Forces have started adopting a new regimental set of the long-range S-400 Triumf air defense systems at the Kapustin Yar testing range in the Astrakhan Region, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday.

Earlier, the Almaz-Antey concern said it had handed Russia’s Defense Ministry five S-400 regiments in 2016. «The Aerospace Forces are adopting a second regimental set of S-400 air defense systems in a month,» the statement said. According to the statement, the servicemen have started a complex acceptance of the military equipment, which includes assembly quality inspection, checking of the completeness and operating capacity of all systems, mechanisms and aggregates of the new air defense system. Following these procedures, the servicemen will pass control tests on the admission to carry out initial firing exercises and the new regimental set of the S-400 air defense system will be delivered to a permanent disposition in the Moscow region, according to the Defense Ministry. The S-400 is Russia’s next-generation air defense system, carrying three different types of missiles capable of destroying aerial targets at short-to-extremely long range. It is capable of tracking and destroying all existing aerial targets, including ballistics and cruise missiles.

Commenting on the recent successful pop-up launch tests of a Russian-made intercontinental ballistic missile on the advanced Barguzin rail-based strategic missile complex, German media have sounded a clear alarm, calling it «a nightmare,» however noting that it comes only in response to the west’s build-up on Russia’s borders.

The testing took place at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in early November, and paves the way for full-scale flight development tests.

«Pop-up launch tests are conducted to determine whether the complex is operational. The missile and the transporter-launcher container were developed some time ago, but the launching platform is a novel solution. The trials are meant to test its performance,» Russian Defense analyst Victor Murakhovsky told Radio Sputnik earlier in November. The test marks the revival of the nuclear-trains project originally dating back the Soviet-era. In 1987, the USSR decided to place its missiles on railways, taking advantage of its large and diverse railroad network, in which a train could hide from satellite reconnaissance. Each of the 12 Soviet ‘nuke trains’ was armed with three RT-23 Molodets (SS-24 Scalpel) intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) carrying 10 warheads. From space, the trains looked like ordinary refrigerator cars.

In accordance with the START II treaty, Russia removed these trains from operational use in 2005 and completely decommissioned them in 2007.

The new project, codenamed «Barguzin» after a strong Baikal wind, is not subjected to the treaty and surpasses its predecessors in capabilities.

Every «Barguzin» train will be armed with six ICBMs RS-24 Yars (a land equivalent of the submarine-launched Bulava).

The new «nuke train» is similar to a nuclear-capable submarine in its function. The cars are so solid that they can resist the explosion of a nuclear warhead just several hundred meters away. A train can run for a month autonomously and travel up to 1,000 kilometers per day. The system is expected to be developed by 2018. Five «Barguzin» regiments are expected to enter Russia’s Strategic Missiles Forces by 2020. «Soviet-era platforms employed railway cars, different in size from standard rail carriages. The new missile complex fits onto the standard rail gauge. The wagons carrying [the recently tested] missiles resemble a freight refrigerator car for instance,» Murakhovsky explained. Commenting on the recent tests, German news website Welt.de and news magazine Stern have called the train «a nightmare.» However the outlets note that the revival of the so-called «ghost trains» comes in response to what Moscow sees as the «West’s crossing of the red line» in Eastern Europe, right on Russia’s borders. The outlets point to NATO’s military build-up in Eastern Europe and in the Baltic states. In a separate comment on the issue, Russian military commentator Vasily Sychev noted that Barguzin emerged only in response to the US’ Prompt Global Strike (PGS) project, which is a system that can deliver a precision-guided conventional weapon airstrike anywhere in the world within one hour, in a similar manner to a nuclear ICBM.

Such a weapon would allow the US to respond far more swiftly than is possible with conventional forces.

In September 2014, President Putin mentioned PGS among a number of the new threats Russia faced, along with the US Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system in Alaska, the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System in Europe, and increased NATO activity in eastern Europe. Deputy Prime Minister in charge of defense industry Dmitry Rogozin warned that Russia would upgrade its strategic nuclear forces and aerospace defenses in response to the PGS system. Victor Murakhovsky said that those who refer to the train as «a sheer nightmare» for foreign intelligence services have every reason for such a reference. «I would agree with this since there are no attributes which could be used to detect this rail-based missile complex,» he said. «There is a new launching platform and a new combat control system which uses protected digital communication channels. There are new input programs for missions,» he detailed. Hence the German media is right in its alarm that the feared Russian trains will be able to capture any strategic targets in the West. The trains however will remain solely on the Russian territory as the size of Russia’s railway gauge is broader than that of Europe.

Rail tracks in the territories of Russia and the former Soviet Union were constructed using broad-gauge track (1,520 millimeter, or roughly 5 feet).

Most European railways west of the Baltic states, as well as 60 percent of the railways in the world, use standard-gauge track (1,435 millimeter). The origins of the difference in rail gauges between Europe and the former Soviet Union extend back to the 19th century. For Russia, the different rail gauge served a strategic military purpose by complicating the ability of hostile militaries to move troops and materiel into the country by rail.

The first batch comprised over 60 pistols and 10,000 cartridges, press service of the Russian corporation Techmash said

The US law enforcement agencies purchased a batch of Russian Osa non-lethal pistols developed by Techmash, press service of the Russian corporation told TASS on Thursday.

The first batch comprised over 60 pistols and 10,000 cartridges and trial use of weapons has started recently, the press service said.

«Sheriffs of the State of Arizona bought a batch of Osa multi-functional pistols. This is the first case in the current history when the US law enforcement authorities officially purchased Russian non-lethal weapons. The non-lethal pistol primarily provides deterring and psychological effect,» the press service said.

Osa pistols were rated high by the US policemen, Techmash said. «Negotiations are currently underway on procurement of these pistols by sheriffs of other states,» Chief Executive Officer of Techmash Sergei Rusakov said in a comment.

Russia’s new 150th motor rifle division has started defending the country’s southern frontiers, Defense Minister Army General Sergei Shoigu said on Friday.

«I want to note that the 150th motor rifle division has started performing tasks for the defense of frontiers in the country’s south since yesterday,» Shoigu said.
The division’s first cantonment was erected within short time limits thanks to new construction technologies, the defense minister said.

As Russia’s Southern Military District reported earlier, over 1,500 conscripts will serve in the new division.

As the Defense Ministry reported earlier, the 150th Idritsa-Berlin Kutuzov Order of the 2nd Degree Motor Rifle Division being established in Russia will start planned combat training from December 1, 2016.

Russia’s state arms exporter expressed hope that Latin American states would be interested in the country’s equipment designed for activities in conditions similar to the ones of the Arctic region, Rosoboronexport’s press service said in a statement on Tuesday.

Russia’s state arms exporter expressed hope that Latin American states would be interested in the country’s equipment designed for activities inconditions similar to the ones of the Arctic region, Rosoboronexport’s press service said in a statement on Tuesday.

«Rosoboronexport’s specialists express their hope for heightened interest of the representatives of the regional states’ delegations to the production of Russian entities that could be used in [harsh climate-related] conditions of the Arctic,» the statement said.

Russia will present hydrographic survey and icebreaking vessels, as well as Mi-26T2 helicopters, to the Latin American consumers, the press service added.

The 10th international naval and maritime exhibition EXPONAVAL 2016 is held in the Chilean region of Valparaiso on November 29 — December 2. The four-day event is sponsored by the Chilean Defense Ministry and is dedicated to the issues related to the naval defense and procurement of naval equipment.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that the Ground Forces of the Russian Federation will take part in six peacekeeping and anti-terrorism international military exercises next year.

The Ground Forces of the Russian Federation will take part in six peacekeeping and anti-terrorism international military exercises next year, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

«In the 2017 academic year, the participation of formations and units of the Ground Forces is planned in six joint military exercises of the peacekeeping and anti-terrorist character with army units of the armed forces of India, Mongolia, Vietnam, Nicaragua, and Pakistan, as well as with the units of the armed forces of [Collective Security Treaty Organization] CSTO participating states,» the statement says. According to the release, the focus of Russian ground forces training in 2017 will be the improvement of skills necessary to operate in mountainous areas and in the Arctic.